Avery Brewing's last barrel room release of Muscat d'Amour and Recolte Sauvage. The brewery has announced it will release barrel-aged Uncle Jacob's Stout in April.

Turns out, Adam Avery’s “drinking problem” runs in the family.

A genealogy project revealed his great uncle six times over — Jacob Spears — was a distiller in Bourbon County, Kentucky circa 1790 and is widely credited with creating the “bourbon” appellation for the county’s whiskey.

“He had to start a distillery, and I had to start a brewery,” Avery says.

To honor his booze-loving ancestor and to mark the second release in the brewery’s annual barrel series, Avery announced Uncle Jacob’s Stout will debut April 7.

The 17.4 percent ABV stout, appropriately aged in bourbon barrels for six months, is the follow up to Avery’s popular 2011 pumpkin ale Rumpkin[3].

The new series aims to develop barrel-aged beers as part of the brewery’s regular, annual line up. (As opposed to the one-off barrel-aged sour series that has produced gems like Brabant[4] and Dépuceleuse.)

Avery’s “Chief Barrel Herder” Andy Parker said the stout’s high booze content and the barrel’s astringent tannins posed a challenge, so he chose caramel specialty malts over coffee roasts. He promises a “dangerously smooth” brew with notes of vanilla, coconut, dried currants and cherries.

Pick up bottles — $10 for a 12 ounce — at the Avery Taproom’s April 7 release party starting at 5 p.m. Limit 12.